Sociology/Politics

Sociology and politics together address the fundamental questions of how societies are organised and who gets to decide. Sociology investigates the patterns of social life: how inequalities are reproduced across generations, how institutions shape behaviour, how identity and culture are formed, and how social change happens. Politics examines how power is distributed and exercised: through states, parties, movements and international organisations, and in the everyday encounters between institutions and the people they affect.

Bringing the two disciplines together allows you to understand political phenomena in their social context and social dynamics in their political dimension.

At the University of Glasgow, the four-year full-time MA programme develops your understanding of both disciplines with rigour and breadth. You will study classical and contemporary sociological theory alongside political philosophy, comparative government and international relations. You will learn to read empirical evidence critically, to engage with theoretical debates and to connect abstract ideas to concrete social and political realities.

The degree includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to study sociology and politics in a different national and cultural context, enriching your comparative perspective and your understanding of how the questions both disciplines ask are answered differently in different societies.

Glasgow is an excellent city in which to study these subjects. Its social history, its political traditions and its role in Scottish and UK public life all provide material for reflection, and the university's strong research culture in both sociology and politics informs the undergraduate curriculum.

Graduates work in the civil service, local government, policy research, journalism, the third sector, international organisations, education, law and trade unions. Postgraduate study in sociology, politics, social policy, international relations or law is a common route for those who want to develop specialist expertise or pursue academic careers.